Button or the like sewing machine



Nov. 16, 1943. R. LYONS BUTTON OR THE LIKE SEWING MACHINE 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June .28

m W Z w NOV. 16;1943. R, LYQNS 2,334,569

BUTTON OR THE SEWING MACHINE Filed June 28, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 'IIIIIA VII/11114! Patented Nov. 16, 1943 meme-assignments, to United Corporation of Massachusetts, Cambridge, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 28, 1940, Serial No. 342,841

9 Claims. (01. 112 112 This invention relates to machines for sewing on buttons and analogous articles, and is more particularly concernedwith machines of this type wherein the button or other article is secured by a plurality of independent sets of chain stitches which are successively placed by a single needle. In button sewing machines of the chain stitch type trouble has often been experienced from failure of the starting end ofthe thread to be securely held, this often resulting in the presence or one or more loose thread loops or a thread end appearing on the frontface of the button, or a longthread end on the back face of the work, for one or both sets of stitches.

The present invention has for one object to hold the starting thread end for each set of stitches so that no loose loopbr thread end will show on the front face of the work and no long thread end will be left on the'back face. V

A further object is to provide a securement, particularly of the starting thread end such that it is not liable to be Worked loose during service. Still another object is to so position and hold the thread end that a neat and trim appearance is presented on the back face of the work.

For a more complete understanding of this ining drawings in which Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side elevation of a button sewing machine, with parts broken away, and embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is adetail section on line 22 of Figure 1. s

Figures 3 and 4 are somewhatdiagrammatic perspective views showing to a much lar'ger's'cale the back face of the work after the first set of stitches have been placed'and at the end of the sewing operation, respectively. p 3 v Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan of a portion of the machine, part of the bed being broken away, to a larger scalethan Figures 1 and 21 Figure dis a detail section on line 6 5 of Figure 5.

Figures 7 to 11, inclusive, are somewhat diagrammatic vertical sections through thebutton,

ary 23, 1939, for Button sewing-machine which i1- lustrates a button sewing machine wherein by the use of a single needle a four-"hole buttoni s secured to work by two'independent sets of stitches placed in sequence during a singlecontinuous machine operation. The machine comprises 'a bed i having'an upstanding post 2 at the upper end of which is a sewing arm 3 terminating in a sewing head 4. At 5 is shown a needle bar to the lower end of which issecur'ed a needle 6 which is arranged to reciprocate and cooperate with a rotary looper 1 and the other necessary'instrumentalities to form stitches.

The work is supported on a stationary cloth plates (see especially Figures 5 and 6) carried 7 by a throat plate Sand the throat plate'ha's a raised portion to at itsforwardend so that the cloth plate is supported in spaced relation to the throat ll of the throat plate, The cloth plateis also shown as provided with a' slotted rear' end i 2 abovethis'throat for the passage-of the needle,

At I4 is a clamp for receiving a'four-hole button,

though anyholder for anarticle to' be attached to the work by two sets of stitches might-be substituted. This button clamp or article holder is shown "as pivoted as at I5 in the Well known manner so that its forward end may be elevated from the work and this pivot is carried by a slide I5 (see Figure 2) movablefrom front to back of the machine. 1 The article holder or button clamp may belifted from the work by any suitable means as is well known," a chain I! being shown for this 7 purpose. This. chain is secured at its lower end to a portion of'the' button clamp and at its upper end to acrank arm I8 carried by a rock shaft H! which may be rocked by the depression of a 'treadle or other suitable means (not shown) connected as by achain 20 to a second crank arm- 2| also secured to the rock shaft l9. As shown in my reissue patent. to which reference'has been .made; the slide I 6 may berocked about a'pivot 22 of a button clampsupport 25 upon which the slide I6 is slidably mounted to impart lateral motion to the button clamp between successive strokes of the needle thus to bring alternately the two holes of a pair in the button held by the clamp into the needle path. This lateral motion is produced'by the rocking of an arcuate'lever 23 connected through a link24 to the button: clamp support 2,5,this lever 23 beingrocked by -a cam follower engaging in a cam groove 26 of a cam 21,'all in the manner" shown in my reissue patent as applied for lateral oscillation of the cloth plate and button clamp; In the present construction,

however, the forward end of the slide 25 terminates at 25 well back of the button held' by the at: thserah t d V threhs thesameheie at set of holes in the button, the slide I6 is moved forwardly to present the other set of holes in the button into the needle path Wi h or Without a final tying stitch for the first set, this being done through the rocking of an arcuate lever connected through a link 3! and a lever 32 with the slide l5. Any suitable means may be provided for causing seyerance of the needle' thread be.- tween the placing of the two sets of stitches, but as shown herein, the means employed is that shown and claimed in my application for patent filed October 5, 1937, Serial No. lfif-Lfififi for Button sewing machine, now Patent No, 2,294,471 granted September 1. 1942. For thepur-pose of the presen t application it may be stated that thisc ornprises-a :1 thread finger which is employed as a part'of the stitch-forming mechanism to present the needle thread into proper ,tothelooper and an auxiliary thread finger 35 which ,is positioned to cause the thread finger 35 to move across a t sewe th {threa at :the r e tim he r eenahe stitehe e hhns 'T lJ their th ead hse :is .enenat r e h eheh a d 3 entientse e and a spe a m r38 ar i by amok fit 3L9. T rock shaft 39 also car- 25 r se eam lie-p te m iee th e -tQ l ne see 1 t h s an e teem s e v 4. a A3,-

eted eue a worm and worm r gge nd 45, respectively, from the grain ,dg iwe shaft 4e, and a second worm eel etetmetahd m u t e cam 27 also rotates .the h t -t e ma n sha B d 1 :n edfl 6 a :threu h sieuhle e ah .meeheni -yihs reds 5. the l hn menses a e tmthe eas 8 9 s de eheiver e5 s u ed t an hhh -5 h he 3. see s h link he t e 4 an shac me e th a e i 'i h automatic itehh o o se i hrsush the t wa d se hole in @thehh ten and i d si e wi h a,d h e ek 43 e last t h to rod aha ee fi he the ps seh at en e the rea ward heles o t e hut n'ihte the ne -the th need e thread bei s t o th ih eh s l he'se hs se stit hes in ep nde z a q h .h fir t se hrou h the e e s t o hole in the button, ,after which. as shown in my Iteissh .Fateht Ne- 2191s the ma hi may h stopped automatically after one or more knottin tteh el m! sire seemed at its rea .8 .62 esented t r fess.

-.s .ee hee l penmes :54 andeda l, t e e'be weenthe cloth plate 8 and the throatpl ate a. .At-ther-ear ends-1 he slide i i esta es a la e -s x ens t lie 66 to which is secured a rod 61 having a pivotal connection at 58 with an "arm 69 secured to a rock shaft E3. The effective length of the rod 61 is adjusted through a pin and slot connection at H. The rock shaft is is provided with an arm '12 carrying a cam follower 73 riding in a cam groove '14 in the cam 43.

At the start of the sewing operation the element is in the position shownin Figure 7, with its hole 65 in the path of the needle 6. The but- :ton clamp is then in retracted position so that ;the position shown in Figure 8, causing the thread ,end a to be clamped against the top face of the throat plate and the hole 5.4- of the clamp {50 t o be -positioned in the needle path. The sewof the-first set of stitches continues with the --pa r;ts ,in "this. position, the starting thread end beensewegl to the work by-the stitches of this set,

th th e s e e d and he b t en amp i moved torward-into the position shown in Eigure 10 so as to present the rear set'of holes in the .hu-t e alternately nto the n d e pa After the sta tihs tht a end 11 o the se ond et f st tehe -ha been p aced be ea h the Work by the first {pass f th ne d e to t s c d set vofstit hes and theneedle has retracted from the work, element 5 0 is moved rearwardly fur- .ther s that i is entirely out of the needle :path, into the position-of'Figure 1-1. This causes the starting thread end a and any vend 0 left for the first set-of stitches after the severance of the ,thread to be drawn rearwardly with the starting thread end ,1) ,of the secondflset 0r stitches so that va ll three of -these thread ends are in position to be sewed tothe work by the second set of stitches passed through the rear holes of the Jggtton as shown in Figures 4 and 11. Because tilefinal end of the thread from the fi-rst set of stitches is stitched to the work by the stitches of the second set, the ,usual knotting stitch at theend of the first set may be omitted, if desired. {The thread is severedagain after the last knotting stitch of the second set of stitches, either by the lifting of the button clamp or by the operation of thread severing mechanism, as may he desired, this last thread end being illustrated at d. Figure 4 illustrates the neat appearance of the back-face of the work at the completion of the stitching operation, with the starting thread end a engaged and sewed to the Work by both the first and second set if-stitches, the severed end of the th readof the first set of stitches, if sufficiently long, also being sewed to the work by the second set of stitches, and the starting thread endof-the second set of stitches also being sewed to they/or}; by'the second set of stitches. Thus a 7 very firm s eurement of the th ead n s is p duced and no thread ends or loose loops of thread appear on the front face of the work or button and the thread ends, except the final thread end, are either wholly concealed by the stitching 'or at most present veryshort portions which do not impair the appearanceof the work.

It is important that the pressure with which the member 69 engages one of the plates 8 or 9, preferably the throat plate 9, be-adjusted in order that it may not clamp the thread "so tightly as to cause breakage, but that it may engage it sufiiciently tightly to prevent the formation of loose loops of threads. Adjustment of this pressure may be produced by means shown best in Figure 6. A threaded post 80 is shown as se- 3, Ina sewingmachine, a throat plate, a cloth platespaced above said throat plate,an article clamp for holding an article having provisions for receiving apair ofsets of stitchesby which said article may be secured to work on said cloth plate, sewing instrumentalities including a needle reciprocable through openings in said throat and cloth plate, said machine also including means I for severingthe'sewing thread, and means for cured in upstanding position to the slide 62,

' this passing through a hole 8i through the element 6!]; Threaded on this post is anut 82 which may bear against the top of the member 50. Adjustment of this nut serves to determine the spring pressure exerted by the forward end of the member 59 against the throat plate. For the purpose of holding this nut in adjusted position, the post 8!! is shown as split, the split parts springing apart sufficiently to fric-tionally grip the nut, and in order to adjust the nut it may be provided with holes 84 within which a needle may be placed to act as a lever to turn the nut. This prevents the necessity of the operator having to have a wrench for producing such adjustment, there always being needles convenient for the operators use for this purpose.

-rom the foregoing description of an embodi ment of this invention, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a sewing machine, a throat plate, a cloth plate spaced above said throat plate, an article clamp for holding an article having provisions for receiving a pair of sets of stitches by which said article may be secured to work on saidcloth plate, sewing instrumentalities including a needle reciprocable through openings in said throat and cloth plate, said mechanism also including means for severing the sewing thread, and means for relatively moving said instrumentalities, clamp, and cloth plate to sew the article to the work with one set of chain stitches, sever the thread and then sew the article to the Work by another set of chain stitches, an element located in the space between said cloth and throat plates, and means for actuating said element to clampthe starting thread end for each set of stitches.

2. In a sewing machine, a throat plate, a cloth plate spaced above said throat plate, an article clamp for holding an article having provisions for receiving a pair of sets of stitches by which said article may be secured to work on said cloth plate, sewing instrumentalities including a needle reciprocable through openings in said throat and cloth plate, aid mechanism als including means for severing the sewing thread, and means for relatively moving said instrumentalities, clamp, and cloth plate to sew the article to the work with one set of chain stitches, sever the thread and then sew the article to the work by another set of chain stitches, an element located in the space between said cloth and throat plates, and means for actuating said element to draw the starting thread end into position to be engaged and held by subsequently formed stit/ches of the corresponding set.

relatively moving said instrumentalities, clamp, and cloth plate to sewthe article to the work with one set of chain stitches, sever the thread and then sew the article to the Work by another set of chain stitches, an element located in the space betweensaid cloth and throat plates, and having a pair of spaced needle-receiving holes,

and means acting after the needle has passed the starting threadiend through one of said holes to move said element laterally of the line of stitches of said first set into position to cause said end to be engaged and held thereby and to bring said other holeintb the needle path and to move said element again after the needle 'has' passed the starting end of the thread for the second set of stitches through said .other hole to cause said last; mentioned'starting end to be engaged and held by stitches of the second set. a 1

4. In a button sewing machine, a throat plate, a cloth plate spaced above said throat plate, sewing instrumentalities including a needle, thread severing mechanism, a four-hole buttonclamp, means for producing sewing needle strokes and for vibrating said clamp laterally to place stitches through a pair of holes in the button and after knotting the thread to sever the thread, means i for moving said button clamp to present the sec- 7 0nd set of holes in the button into the needle path and place -a second set of stitchesindependent of the first mentioned stitches, an element having a pair of needle holes positionedbetween said cloth and'throat plates, and means controlling said element-for presenting one of said holes into the needle path at the start of sewing and to present'the other hole into the T needle path after the needle has retracted from the work at the start of the formation of a setof stitches and for moving the second hole out of the needle path after the needle has retracted from the work on the first stroke for the formation of the second set of stitches.

5. In a sewing machine having a cloth plate, an article holder for supporting an article to be sewed to work on said cloth plate, sewing instrumentalities including a needle and mechanism cooperating withsaid needle to form stitches, and to cause parting of the thread at a desired time, and means for. relatively manipulating said holder and instrumentalities durin a continuous machine operation tocause stitches to be made sequentially in a plurality of spaced independent sets securing an article carried by saidholder to work on said cloth plate, an element engaging both starting and finishing thread ends of the first set of stitches, and means for moving said element after the first needle strok of each set of stitch-forming operations to engage the starting thread end for that set and to hold said thread end durin subsequent stitch-forming operations and to move the starting and finishing thread ends of the first set of stitches into position to be engaged and secured by the stitches of the second set.

6. A sewing machine having work holding means, an article'holder for supporting an article in position to be sewed to the work by a plurality holding means and mechanism'for securing an article held by said holder to :work carried by said holding means by one ,setof stitches, severing the thread, moving said'holder andranechanism vrelatively and. securing said article to the workby a. second set oi stitches, said machine including means engaging the severed end of the first set of stitches, and means to cause said enaging means to place said severed end into position to be secured to the work by stitches of the second set. v

'7. In a sewing machine having work holding means, an article holder for supporting an article imposition to be sewed to work by a plurality of sets of stitches, stitch-forming mechanism, means for relatively manipulating said holder, holding means and mechanism for securing an article held by said holder to workcarried by said holding means by one set of stitches and thereafter by another set of gstiches, means for cutting the thread after the first set of stitches has been placed, thread gripping means located between said cutting means and the, work, and means for actuating said gripping means before the placing of the second setof stitches to position the cut end from the first set of stitches to be secured to the work by the stitches of the second set.

8. A sewing machine having work holding means, an article holder for supporting an article in position to be sewed to the work by a plurality 'of sets of stitches, stitch forming mechanism,

and means for relatively manipulating said holder, holding means and mechanism all in a single continuous machine operation for securing an article held by said holder to work carried by said holding means by one set of stitches, severing the thread, moving said holder and mechanism relatively and securing said article to the work We second set of stitches, said machine including means engaging the severed end of the first set of stitches, and means to cause said engaging means to place said severed end into position to be secured to the work by stitches of the second set.

9. In a sewing machine having work holding means, an article holder for supporting an article in position to be sewed to Work by a plurality of sets of stitches, stitch-forming mechanism, means for relatively manipulating said holder, holding means and mechanism for securing an article held by said holder to work carried by said holding means by one set of stitches and thereafter by another set of stitches in the same continuous machine operation, means for cutting the thread after the first set of stitches has been placed, thread gripping means located between said cutting means and the work, and means for actuating said gripping means before the placing of the second set of stitches to position the cut end from the first set ofstitches to be secured to the work by the stitches of the second set.

7 'ROBERT L. LYONS. 

